Journal Abstracts

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This article, in the format of a personal narrative, presents abortions statistics and discusses the controversial subject of abortion with clarity. The proposal is made that medical abortions may not be the only option when a pregnancy is untimely. A process, titled by the author "Conscious Abortion" hi introduced and described.

The purpose of this qualitative, phenomenological study was to better understand parents? experiences of bonding with their babies in utero and after birth, and to discover the relevance of a prenatal and perinatal psychology (PPN) based bonding class in this process. Five couples were recruited from prenatal parenting classes in Santa Barbara, CA, and interviewed in person 2-6 months after giving birth.

This research study examined the hypothesis that preverbal children are capable of implicitly and explicitly registering their prenatal and perinatal experiences and of subsequently communicating these experiences through their behavior. It asked the question, Can trained observers accurately identify preverbal children?s prenatal and perinatal experiences based on the children?s behavior in a therapeutic setting? The study utilized mixed-method analysis, and accuracy was assessed according to the degree of correspondence between the observers?

This theoretical dissertation considered the biological and psychologicalimportance of the dance between mother and infant from conception through the bonding period. It proposed a unifying dance metaphor of pre- and perinatal motherinfant alchemical dance to provide a psychological term describing their first organizing co-creative dynamics. The process of alchemical dance is postulated to be Nature?s blueprint for the initial creational unfolding of human development.

In this article a tentative and provisional theory is advanced on the treatment of birth-giving trauma. ?Birth-giving-trauma? here refers to women (and men) psychologically, physically or emotionally traumatized during birth-giving. In the first part of this article I outline anthropologist Robbie Davis-Floyd?s argument that Western medicalized birthing can be constructed as a ?modern? rite of passage which can negatively imprint disempowering images into women?s minds, reinforce messages of inferiority, and traumatise the birth-giving mothers.

This paper explores the use of touch, particularly infant-massage in infant-parent psychotherapy and the ways in which clinicians can utilize this intervention to strengthen infant-parent attachment. Touch as a taboo in psychotherapy, and the paradigmatic shifts that are occurring to allow for a reconsideration of the value of touch in psychotherapy is considered. Theories on touch and development from a depth-oriented perspective are presented, including related concepts such as: psychic skin, skin ego, and Winnicott?s holding environment or handling.

The purpose of this phenomenological study is to better understand the impact and implications of a cesarean birth on later adult behavior patterns. A written survey was designed using Dr. William R. Emerson?s questionnaire The Evaluation of Obstetrical Trauma: A Questionnaire (1997). Forty statements were developed to represent behaviors believed to relate to birth via cesarean section. Four cesarean-born women participated in the study. Each completed the questionnaire and was interviewed by telephone about the statements she thought best applied to her experience.

In France the policy of regionalization and organization of perinatal care is governed by a Decree issued in 1998, the objective of which is to improve prevention of premature births and perinatal risks. Within this context, forty-nine health professionals were interviewed by means of a qualitative questionnaire designed to evaluate implementation of the Decree. The present report is primarily an analysis of the mechanisms and psychosocial issues of over-medicalization of birth.

This paper describes the rationale and curriculum for an attachment-based intervention for pregnant women who attend an outpatient methadone-maintenance clinic. Maternal drug use has been associated with negative prenatal internal representations and problems in mutual regulation after birth. Maternal attachment status during pregnancy has been correlated with subsequent security of infant attachment. Recent studies suggest maternal reflective functioning as a key mediator in attachment.

A position on the necessity of evaluating both obstretrics and midwifery is offered to utilize what strengths each discipline brings birthing mothers. But beyond this, the effects of birth on subsequent events, for example breastfeeding in the short term, and the potential for sweeping effects in the long term for the culture are included. To summarize, the accumulation of research in a number of areas points to the conclusion that interfering with pre- or perinatal development can have future effects currently not envisioned.